An open adoption is when there are court orders mandating adoptive parents to maintain a degree of communication with the biological parents of a child. A closed adoption is absent any orders regarding communication between parties. In the state of Colorado all adoptions are closed. This means that any and all communication between a child and their biological parents is at the discretion of the adoptive parents.

Public refers to an adoption facilitated by the state. The children involved in public adoptions were removed from their family due to abuse and/or neglect and the parents' rights were terminated by the court. Private adoptions are facilitated by private agencies or an attorney. In private adoptions, the biological parents relinquish their parental rights to allow their child to be adopted.